Design Innovation Centre (DIC) - Hub ,GTU

What Design Innovation Centre (DIC) - Hub ,GTU does

Design Innovation Centre (DIC) is a project of Gujarat Technological University (GTU) established in May 2018 under the Ministry of Human Resource Development's National Initiative for Design Innovation. It operates a Hub-and-Spoke model with GTU Chandkheda (Ahmedabad) as the Hub and three engineering colleges — AVPTI Rajkot, Dr. S & S S Ghandhy Government Engineering College Surat, and Government Engineering College Modasa — as Spokes, collectively covering Gujarat state. The center provides a fabrication laboratory (FabLab) equipped for 3D printing, CNC operations, laser cutting, PCB design and manufacturing, and digital prototyping, alongside structured training courses in CAD, IoT, robotics, blockchain, and ML/DL fundamentals. Core services include product design and development support, IPR assistance, mentoring, and Design Engineering courses integrated into the engineering curriculum from 3rd to 6th semester.

The center serves four primary user groups: engineering students, faculty members, researchers and innovators, and early-stage startups. All services — FabLab access, mentorship, IPR support, and training — are provided at no cost, with the center fully funded by the Department of Higher Education, MHRD, Government of India. The go-to-market model is community-led and event-driven, relying on workshops, bootcamps, Faculty Development Programs (FDPs), hackathons, and webinars (including virtual events during 2020) to engage its audience. Advisory oversight is provided by senior academics from IIT Delhi, IISc Bangalore, and the Indian School of Design & Innovation.

The business model is a government grant-funded university project rather than a commercial enterprise, with no pricing, no paying customers, and no disclosed revenue. As a state technological university project under Gujarat Act no. 20 of 2007, DIC sits within the public higher education ecosystem, with leadership provided by the Vice Chancellor of GTU and a small core team of approximately 8 staff (Deputy Director, Assistant Professors, Project Assistants, and Research Assistant). Technology partnerships (notably with Autodesk for Fusion 360 training) supplement the in-house curriculum.

Name

Design Innovation Centre (DIC) - Hub ,GTU

Legal name

Gujarat Technological University

Website

https://dic.gtu.ac.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Design Innovation Centre (DIC) is an MHRD-funded project at Gujarat Technological University providing FabLab access, design thinking education, IPR support, and mentorship to engineering students, faculty, researchers, and startups across Gujarat under a Hub-and-Spoke model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Design Innovation Services

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (541420), Engineering Services (541330), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maker / DIY Electronics & Physical Computing Platforms (EDAFANAC), Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

Keywords

• Design innovation education
• Fabrication laboratory services
• Prototyping facility access
• Faculty development programs
• Intellectual property support

Headquarters

HQ city

Chandkheda, Ahmedabad

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Project funded by Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The center provides services including FabLab access, mentorship, IPR support, and training to students, faculty, and startups at no cost.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Design Innovation Centre (DIC) is an MHRD-funded university project that operates a Hub-and-Spoke design innovation ecosystem centred at Gujarat Technological University. It provides fabrication laboratory (FabLab) access for prototyping, product design and development support, intellectual property rights (IPR) assistance, mentoring, and structured design-thinking training courses to engineering students, faculty, researchers, and startups across Gujarat.

Product overview

Design Innovation Centre (DIC) - Hub, GTU is an educational and innovation support facility established at Gujarat Technological University under MHRD's National Initiative for Design Innovation. It operates as a Hub-and-Spoke model with three spoke institutes (AVPTI Rajkot, GEC Surat, GEC Modasa) covering Gujarat state. The centre provides an integrated ecosystem combining FAB LAB prototyping facilities, product design & development support, IPR assistance, and mentoring services. The portfolio includes a Fabrication Laboratory with digital manufacturing equipment, structured training courses in design and emerging technologies (CAD, 3D printing, IoT, blockchain, ML/DL), and startup/application support services. The centre also organizes workshops, bootcamps, and design challenges to foster innovation culture among students and faculty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FAB LAB (Fabrication Laboratory) A full-fledged fabrication laboratory providing prototyping facilities for students, researchers, and innovators to design and build product prototypes, equipped for digital fabrication including 3D printing, CNC operations, laser cutting, and PCB design and manufacture.
• Product Design & Development Support Comprehensive support service for converting innovative ideas into tangible products, including design assistance, prototyping, and technical mentorship for product development, targeted at students, researchers, and innovators.
• IPR Support Intellectual Property Rights support and assistance for innovators to protect their inventions and creative works through patents, trademarks, and other IP mechanisms.
• Mentoring Support Expert guidance and mentorship service connecting students and innovators with industry professionals and experienced faculty for project development and entrepreneurship guidance.
• Fab Lab Training Courses Structured training programs covering digital fabrication technologies including Fab Lab concepts, CAD design, electronics, microcontrollers, 3D printing, CNC operations, laser cutting, PCB design, IoT, and entrepreneurship, targeted at students and faculty.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 workshops, seminars, and FDPs conducted from 2018-2022 with thousands of participants including national hackathon winners
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• A.V. Parekh Technical Institute (AVPTI), RajkotcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018Spoke-1 partner under the MHRD-funded Hub and Spoke model. AVPTI is a diploma engineering institute promoting project-based and outcome-based learning. The partnership enables collaborative teaching initiatives and provides diploma students access to the innovation ecosystem and FabLab facilities.
• Dr. S & S S Ghandhy Government Engineering College, SuratcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018Spoke-2 partner providing design innovation support to engineering students in Surat. The institute offers outstanding learning environment in Electrical, Mechanical, and Electronics & Communication Engineering with dedicated faculty and industry experts.
• Government Engineering College, ModasacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018Spoke-3 partner established in 1984 serving North Gujarat region including Panchmahal, Sabarkantha, Banaskantha, Mehsana and Patan districts. The institute provides access to DIC ecosystem for students in industrially potential areas of Gujarat.
• IIT Delhi (Prof. P.V.M.Rao)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Advisory/Governing Committee member providing strategic guidance for the DIC project implementation and design innovation initiatives.
• IISc Bangalore (Prof. Amaresh Chakrabarti)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Center for Product Design & Manufacturing representative on the Advisory/Governing Committee offering expertise in product design and manufacturing innovation.
• Indian School of Design & Innovation (Prof. Bhaskar Bhatt)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Associate Dean from Indian School of Design & Innovation serves on the Advisory/Governing Committee providing design innovation expertise.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay: Premier industrial design school at IIT Bombay offering design education, prototyping facilities, and innovation programmes. Directly comparable as an academic hub combining design thinking curriculum with hands-on fabrication and product development support.
• IIT Delhi Design Innovation Centre: Another Design Innovation Centre funded under the same MHRD National Initiative for Design Innovation. Directly comparable as a government-funded university-based hub offering FabLab, design thinking curriculum, and innovation support to engineering students.
• IISc Centre for Product Design & Manufacturing (CPDM): Academic centre at IISc Bangalore focused on product design and manufacturing research, and an advisory partner of DIC. Comparable as a research-driven hub for product design, prototyping, and engineering innovation in an Indian university setting.

Regional players

• CIIE.CO (IIM Ahmedabad Innovation Centre): Innovation and entrepreneurship centre at IIM Ahmedabad in the same Gujarat region. Comparable as a Gujarat-based institutional hub supporting startups through mentoring, incubation, and funding access, but focused on business-stage entrepreneurs rather than engineering students.

Broad incumbents

• Atal Tinkering Labs (ATAL) – AIM, NITI Aayog: Government of India initiative establishing tinkering and innovation labs in schools. A broader incumbent targeting a younger audience but operating on a similar government-funded, hub-and-distributed-labs model for design and innovation culture-building.
• Fab Foundation (Global FabLab Network): International non-profit operating the global FabLab network of digital fabrication labs. Comparable as the overarching ecosystem for makerspace/FabLab operations that DIC's FabLab is part of, with shared equipment standards and training frameworks.
• Stanford d.school (Hasso Plattner Institute of Design): Globally recognised design thinking education and innovation centre embedded in a university. Comparable as a model for design thinking curriculum integration and innovation culture, though at much larger scale and private-university context.
• National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad: India's premier national institute for design education, research, and practice. A broader incumbent offering specialised design programmes across disciplines; overlaps with DIC in design thinking and product design, but operates as a standalone degree-granting institution.

Others

• MIT Media Lab: Globally renowned academic research lab at MIT focused on design, technology, and innovation. Adjacent comparable as a high-prestige model of university-based interdisciplinary innovation labs, though operating at vastly greater scale, funding, and global scope than DIC.

Emerging players

• Autodesk Design & Make Education: Autodesk's education and training arm and an existing DIC partner. Comparable as a provider of design software (Fusion 360) training and certification that complements DIC's curriculum, and as a global emerging player in digital design skills.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-innovation-centre-dic---hub-gtu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Design Innovation Centre (DIC) - Hub ,GTU